Financial support key to warehouse and logistics expansion

HRMP Logistics, a logistics company specialising in the transport of heavy-duty breakbulk, opened its R17.5 million warehouse expansion at Dube TradePort TradeZone 2 on 14 June 2024.

For the past six years HRMP has leased warehousing from a third-party developer at Dube TradePort TradeZone 1. However, with the ongoing expansion of its business across the value chain, acquiring a 5,600 sqm site through a notarial lease to build their own warehouse became a viable option providing an expansive property.

Dube TradePort’s leasehold model and Ithala Development Finance Corporation’s willingness to fund a leasehold property development was the primary reason for building at Dube TradePort, said Musa Makunga CEO of HRMP Logistics.

He points out that leasehold ownership, which enables the right to use a property for a set period as if you own it, is the most misunderstood concept. It effectively means that an entrepreneur can develop a business without buying the land upfront, and at the end of the long-term lease, hands the land and premises back to the original owner.

He acknowledges that by being based at Dube TradePort, HRMP Logistics has been able to grow from micro – into a small to medium-sized business. “From the first time I contacted DTP in 2017 looking for warehousing to now, they have worked with us finding solutions to our challenges.”

When HRMP Logistics started in 2018 it had two employees, leasing 2,000 sqm of warehousing at DTP TradeZone 1 and hired vehicles from other logistics businesses including Dube TradePort’s AiRoad.

Now it employs 10 people, has its own premises and five trucks capable of transporting up to 34 tons of cargo each.

HRMP Logistics is a subsidiary of HRM Holdings which started back in 2002 when Makhunga, then full time employed, decided to establish a HR consulting business, HR Matters which he ran on a fulltime basis in 2006.

“From the start we decided not to rent properties from which we operated and so HRM Properties was formed. We used this business, in 2017, to start our warehousing and logistics business HRMP Logistics, in March 2020, initially relying on third-party transporters including Dube AiRoad. Now we have formed a clearing agency which facilitates imports and exports thus providing a turnkey solution for clients. All of this is a story of 22-years, and we are not at the end of the journey,” said Makunga.

These business achievements have been possible through the support of key partners like: Dube TradePort and Ithala Development Finance Corporation, as well as the various truck service providers who are willing to come out in the middle of the night to attend to a breakdown.